New toxic chemical law begins to review most-dangerous compounds

The first 10 toxic chemicals to be reviewed under the amended
Toxic Substances Control Act were announced this week by the
Environmental Protection Agency. After review, these chemicals
could be banned or significantly restricted in their use.

Photo:André Künzelmann,
Wikimedia commons

As specified by law, the first 10 chemicals were chosen from 90
listed in the TSCA Work Plan, based on their high hazard and the
likelihood of human and environmental exposure.

Incidentally, seven of the 10 chemicals to be reviewed are
contaminants that have reached sources of drinking water at various
sites across the country. Six of the seven are known or suspected
of causing cancer in humans.

These are the seven chemicals known to contaminate drinking
water:

1,4-Dioxane: A solvent used in adhesives, inks
and other consumer applications, dioxane can also contaminate
indoor air.

1-Bromopropane: A solvent used in adhesives
and degreasers, it was once a common dry-cleaning fluid. In
addition to drinking water, the compound has been found to
contaminate indoor air, surface water, groundwater and soil.

Carbon tetrachloride: A strong solvent once
used in cleaning, fire extinguishers and refrigeration, the
sweet-smelling contaminant has also been found in indoor air,
surface water, groundwater and soil.

Methylene Chloride: Another solvent, this
chemical has been used as a paint stripper and degreaser and in
special applications. It has also been found in indoor air,
groundwater and soil.

N-methylpyrrolidone: This solvent was once
used in the petroleum, textile and pharmaceutical industry.
Contamination has also been found in indoor air. While not a
carcinogen, it has been found to cause reproductive problems.

Trichloroethylene (TCE): A solvent used to
clean many materials, it has also been found in indoor air, surface
water, groundwater and soil.

Tetrachloroethylene or
perchloroethylene: Highly stable and nonflammable,
this solvent is commonly used in dry-cleaning. Other than drinking
water, it has been found to contaminate indoor air, groundwater and
soil.

The other three chemicals making the list are:

Asbestos: A proven carcinogen, asbestos has
been used in many applications, from floor tiles to brakes, mostly
involving the use of fibrous or heat-resistant materials. Today,
most uses are banned in the U.S., but some imported products still
contain asbestos, and asbestos diaphragms are still used in the
electrolytic production of chlorine gas.

Pigment Violet 29: A dye used to color a
variety of materials, this chemical can cause aquatic
toxicity.

I’m pleased to see that the EPA is still referring to the
amended law as the Toxic Substances Control Act. (See
press release.) I was not looking forward to using the more
elaborate name — the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the
21st Century Act. Some people are shortening the name to the
Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act, or LCSA.

The EPA will now evaluate these chemicals to determine whether
they pose “an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the
environment.” The agency will begin with a scoping document to
describe the hazards, exposure risks, types of use and susceptible
populations. Risk evaluations will be based on existing studies,
but the EPA can call for more research, if needed.

Risk evaluations must be completed within three years. If the
EPA determines that a chemical poses an unreasonable risk, the
agency must take action within two years after such a determination
is made.

How many more chemicals will be reviewed for safety depends in
part on funding. At least 20 risk evaluations must be underway
within 3.5 years, but more could be accomplished with extra
congressional funding or if a business wishes to push ahead on a
specific chemical by paying for the analysis.

What will happen after President-Elect Donald Trump takes office
adds uncertainty to the future of chemical testing. It seems
unlikely that Congress will repeal the act, since it was approved
with overwhelming bipartisan support. Trump has said he would like
to eliminate the EPA — but Trump has said a lot of strange things
that don’t qualify as formal proposals.

With Trump’s support, Congress could cut funding to the EPA,
leading to repercussions for a variety of environmental programs,
not just those dealing with chemicals or safe drinking water. We’ll
have to see what happens.

Some groups opposed to the use of asbestos have celebrated EPA’s
new legal authority over the substance, but they worry what Trump
might be able to do, since he has expressed support for asbestos as
a building material.

“With the transfer of power, the EPA as we know it will change,”
Linda Reinstein, president of the Asbestos Disease Awareness
Organization, writes in the
Huffington Post. “Trump’s administration could well usher in a
resurgence in rampant use of this known human carcinogen by
encouraging development and further deregulating industry.”

The EPA used the Toxic Substances Control Act in 1989 to ban
most uses of asbestos, but industry successfully sued the agency to
get the ban lifted. The U.S. Court of Appeals ruled, among other
things, that the EPA failed to show that the proposed restrictions
were the “least burdensome” approach to reduced risk. The George W.
Bush administration did not appeal the ruling, which stood until
the law was updated last summer.

The new version does not allow cost to be a factor in assessing
risk. Although cost can be considered when determining
restrictions, the law no longer requires a “least-burdensome”
approach.

A good story by writer Britt E. Erickson about asbestos, the new
law and the incoming administration was published this week in
Chemical
and Engineering News.